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This article was originally published in the Custer County Chief, Broken Bow, Nebr., March 19, 2026
Temporary locals looking for ‘forever home’
Digital nomads, ‘Home Sweet Everywhere!
Managing Editor, Custer County Chief
BROKEN BOW - Phyllis and Jerry Campagna have fallen in love with Custer County Nebraska.
They came here as housesitters, members of an online organization called Trusted Housesitters. Homeowners and sitters alike pay an annual membership fee. Homeowners list when they need a sitter, and sitters list when they are available. If they are matched, a ZOOM interview follows. If Phyllis and Jerry feel the right “vibe,” they sign the contractual agreement. Both homeowners and sitters rate the visit afterwards using a star system.
That’s what brought them to Custer County, to house sit for a rural homeowner.
The Campagnas stumbled upon the idea almost five years ago. It was the COVID pandemic; their professions - she a business coach and he an organizational strategist - were moving online. They knew they didn’t want to stay in Elgin, Ill.
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Pictured at left are Phyllis and Jerry Campagna of ... well, everywhere. The temporary locals visited many places while staying in Custer County, even the office of the Custer County Chief. Former newspaper owners, they ran their own newspaper for 10 years in Illinois. - Mona Weatherly, Custer County Chief |
Before they joined Trusted Housesitters, they left the decision up to chance. Friends of theirs were heading south for the winter. “If they agreed to have us house-sit it all winter, we would sell our house and sign up,” Jerry said. Their friends said “Absolutely!”
The Campagnas then sold their own home of more than 20 years and either gave away or sold 90 percent of their possessions. They hit the road with Trusted Housesitters and have never looked back.
“It’s not for the faint of heart,” Jerry cautioned, “Letting go of everything.” They did, however, as Phyllis explained, have the joy of “passing things on” to friends and family. And sometimes to complete strangers. Through a “Buy Nothing” Facebook page, Phyllis’s full set of professional cosmetics and some clothes went to a woman who was just starting a new job. “She was so grateful,” Phyllis said. “She knew she didn’t have what it took to dress for the job.”
For Jerry to let go of his life-size, limited edition Yoda from Star Wars, it took a bit of doing. He interviewed a person who wanted it. After finding out the fellow Star Wars fan had already planned where to place Yoda, on a special stand, between light sabers in a room full of collectibles, Jerry knew he found the right person.
When they house-sit, the Campagnas have definite rules. No photos that would identify the homeowner or location to preserve privacy. No outside visitors to the home. They also follow Trusted Housesitters rule that you can’t be gone from the home more than eight hours.
Most homes have a pet, either a cat or dog. They care for the animals as if they are their own. When they learned Whippets, a cousin of the Greyhound, were to be at a sitting location, they researched the breed to be ready to take care of them. The owners of that home and those national-level show dogs now schedule their vacation around the Campagna’s schedule.
In four and a half years, they have lived in more than 40 states and stayed in homes ranging from small condos to more than 5,000 square feet. They lived on the coast of Maine and on the San Francisco Bay south of the Golden Gate Bridge. They housesit in Oklahoma so they can see their daughters and grandchildren. They haven’t yet been to Hawaii but that’s one of their goals.
“We celebrate daily and have gratitude for where we’re at,” Phyllis said.
This way of life allows them to live like locals. An RV was not an option. It was too much like owning a house. “We didn’t want a hotel or an airBnB,” Phyllis said. “We wanted to be temporary locals.”
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If you saw this GRAVICO license plate in Custer County recently, know that it belongs to Jerry and Phyllis Campagna. It represents their credo - to live life Gratefully, Vibrantly and Courageously. - Mona Weatherly, Custer County Chief |
That means during a sit, they experience the community at its fullest. They dine local, they shop local, they explore local. As their stay in Custer County came to an end, they could list the names of establishments and the names of locals just like a local - Tammy at the Custer County Museum, Cynthia at Nebraska Pasture Door, the City Cafe, Mrs. Robinson’s in Callaway and the Callaway Museum.
“Lillian showed me around the Grocery Kart. Brenda, the cashier, found me a coupon,” Jerry said. Phyllis added, “We’re always surprised. But we’re surprised that we took to this area so quickly.”
The reason they connected so strongly is, they said, “We get a true sense of community.”
That sense of community is paramount as the couple now has another goal.
“We’re looking for our forever home,” Phyllis explained. They don’t want to stay in Illinois. Their two daughters and grandchildren live in Oklahoma. They enjoy their nomadic lifestyle, yet Phyllis acknowledges a growing desire. “There are a few moments, maybe stronger lately, of ‘Gosh, I want to nest.’”
While they look for their forever home, they keep a list of things they have come across that they want in that home - a full set of Hex Clad kitchenware like they found in an Oklahoma home, a combined clothes washer and dryer unit, Nambe´ silverware and, on Jerry’s list, a refrigerator with a built-in, automatic-filling water pitcher on the inside.
They also want what they have found here in Custer County. Where ever they settle, it most certainly must have a true sense of community.
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